Integrated circuit with electromagnetic communication

ABSTRACT

A system for transmitting or receiving signals may include an integrated circuit (IC), a transducer operatively coupled to the IC for converting between electrical signals and electromagnetic signals; and insulating material that fixes the locations of the transducer and IC in spaced relationship relative to each other. The system may further include a lead frame providing external connections to conductors on the IC. An electromagnetic-energy directing assembly may be mounted relative to the transducer for directing electromagnetic energy in a region including the transducer and in a direction away from the IC. The directing assembly may include the lead frame, a printed circuit board ground plane, or external conductive elements spaced from the transducer. In a receiver, a signal-detector circuit may be responsive to a monitor signal representative of a received first radio-frequency electrical signal for generating a control signal that enables or disables an output from the receiver.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/467,334, filed Mar. 24, 2011, which application is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates to systems and methods related to integratedcircuits (ICs)for communication, such as packages having electromagnetic(EM) transducers, such as antennas, embedded with the ICs. The ICs mayinclude signal detector circuits and/or include electromagnetic-energydirecting assemblies.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Advances in semiconductor manufacturing and circuit design technologieshave enabled the development and production of ICs with increasinglyhigher operational frequencies. In turn, electronic products and systemsincorporating such integrated circuits are able to provide much greaterfunctionality than previous generations of products. This additionalfunctionality has generally included the processing of increasinglylarger amounts of data at increasingly higher speeds.

Many electronic systems include multiple printed circuit boards (PCBs)upon which these high-speed ICs are mounted, and through which varioussignals are routed to and from the ICs. In electronic system with atleast two PCBs and the need to communicate information between thosePCBs, a variety of connector and backplane architectures have beendeveloped to facilitate information flow between the boards.Unfortunately, such connector and backplane architectures introduce avariety of impedance discontinuities into the signal path, resulting ina degradation of signal quality or integrity. Connecting to boards byconventional means, such as signal-carrying mechanical connectors,generally creates discontinuities, requiring expensive electronics tonegotiate. Conventional mechanical connectors may also wear out overtime, require precise alignment and manufacturing methods, and aresusceptible to mechanical jostling.

These characteristics of conventional connectors can lead to degradationof signal integrity and instability of electronic systems needing totransfer data at very high rates, which in turn limits the utility ofsuch products.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one example, a system for transmitting or receiving signals mayinclude a transducer configured to convert between electrical signalsand electromagnetic signals, an integrated circuit (IC) operativelycoupled to the transducer, and insulating material. The IC may contain atransmitter circuit and/or a receiver circuit. A transformer circuit maytransform a baseband signal into a radio-frequency signal and conductthe radio-frequency electrical signal to the transducer for transmissionas an electromagnetic signal. A receiver circuit may receive from thetransducer a radio-frequency electrical signal received as anelectromagnetic signal by the transducer and transform theelectromagnetic signal into a baseband signal. The IC and the transducermay be at least partly embedded in the insulating material and held infixed locations relative to each other.

In another example, a system for transmitting or receiving signals mayinclude a transducer configured to convert between radio-frequencyelectrical signals and radio-frequency electromagnetic signals, an ICoperatively coupled to the transducer, and an electromagnetic-energydirecting assembly mounted relative to the transducer. The IC maycontain a transmitter circuit and/or a receiver circuit. A transmittercircuit may transform a baseband signal into a radio-frequencyelectrical signal and conducts the radio-frequency signal to thetransducer. A receiver circuit may receive from the transducer aradio-frequency electrical signal and transforms the radio-frequencyelectrical signal into a baseband signal. An electromagnetic-energydirecting assembly may direct electromagnetic energy in a regionincluding the transducer and in a direction away from the IC.

In a further example, a system may include a transducer configured toconvert electromagnetic signals into electrical signals, and an ICoperatively coupled to the transducer. The IC may include a receivercircuit and a signal-detector circuit. The receiver circuit may receivefrom the transducer a radio-frequency electrical signal and transformthe radio-frequency electrical signal into a baseband signal when acontrol signal has a first state and not when the control signal has asecond state different than the first state. The signal-detector circuitmay be responsive to a monitor signal representative of the receivedfirst radio-frequency electrical signal for generating the controlsignal with the first state when the monitor signal indicates thereceived first radio-frequency electrical signal is an acceptable signaland with the second state when the monitor signal indicates the receivedfirst radio-frequency electrical signal is not an acceptable signal.

An exemplary method may include receiving by a transducer aradio-frequency electromagnetic signal and converting by the transducerthe first radio-frequency electromagnetic signal into a firstradio-frequency electrical signal. A receiver circuit of an integratedcircuit (IC) may receive the first radio-frequency electrical signal. Amonitor signal may be generated that is representative of the receivedradio-frequency electrical signal. A signal-detector circuit may monitorthe monitor signal, and determine whether the monitor signal indicatesthe received radio-frequency electrical signal is an acceptable signal.

A control signal may be generated with a first state when the monitorsignal indicates the received radio-frequency electrical signal is anacceptable signal and with a second state different than the first statewhen the monitor signal indicates the received radio-frequencyelectrical signal is not an acceptable signal. The receiver circuit mayproduce and output a baseband signal from the radio-frequency electricalsignal when the control signal has the first state, and not transformthe radio-frequency electrical signal into a baseband signal when thecontrol signal has the second state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a simplified schematic overhead view of a first example ofan Integrated circuit (IC) package including a die and antenna.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the IC package of FIG. 1 taken alongline 2-2.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an interconnection of the die and antennaof FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic overhead view of a second example of an ICpackage including a die and antenna.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic overhead view of a third example of an ICpackage including a die and antenna.

FIG. 6 shows a cross-section of the IC package of FIG. 5 taken alongline 6-6.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of an IC package.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic side view of an exemplary communication deviceincluding an IC package and PCB.

FIG. 9 is a simplified circuit diagram showing portions of an exemplarytransmitter circuit and antenna.

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing portions of an exemplary receivercircuit and antenna.

FIG. 11 shows an isometric view of another exemplary communicationdevice including an IC package with external circuit conductors.

FIG. 12 shows a bottom view of the exemplary communication device ofFIG. 11.

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate a representative radiation pattern resultingfrom the communication device of FIG. 11 configured as a transmitter.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show transmitting devices with two different exemplaryconfigurations of PCB ground planes and stylized representations ofresulting radiation patterns.

FIG. 17 shows an overhead schematic view of an exemplary transmittingdevice having spaced external director structures.

FIG. 18 shows a side schematic view of the transmitting device of FIG.17, showing a stylized representative radiation pattern.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Wireless communication may be used to provide signal communicationsbetween components on a device or may provide communication betweendevices. Wireless communication provides an interface that is notsubject to mechanical and electrical degradation. Examples of systemsemploying wireless communication between chips are disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,621,913 and U.S. Published Patent Application No.2010/0159829, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety for all purposes.

In one example, tightly-coupled transmitter/receiver pairs may bedeployed with a transmitter disposed at a terminal portion of a firstconduction path and a receiver disposed at a terminal portion of asecond conduction path. The transmitter and receiver may be disposed inclose proximity to each other depending on the strength of thetransmitted energy, and the first conduction path and the secondconduction path may be discontiguous with respect to each other. Inexemplary versions, the transmitter and receiver may be disposed onseparate circuit carriers positioned with the antennas of thetransmitter/receiver pair in close proximity.

As discussed below, a transmitter or receiver may be configured as an ICpackage, in which an antenna may be positioned adjacent to a die andheld in place by a dielectric or insulating encapsulation or bondmaterial. A transmitter or receiver may be configured as an IC package,in which an antenna may be positioned adjacent to a die and held inplace by encapsulation material of the package and/or a lead framesubstrate. Examples of EHF antennas embedded in IC packages are shown inthe figures and described below.

FIGS. 1 through 3 show an exemplary IC package, generally indicated at10. IC package 10 may include a die 12, a transducer 14 providingconversion between electrical and electromagnetic (EM) signals, andconductive connectors 16, such as bond wires 18, 20 electricallyconnecting the transducer to bond pads 22, 24 connected to a transmitteror receiver circuit included in die 12. IC package 10 may furtherinclude an encapsulating material 26 formed around at least a portion ofthe die and/or the transducer. In this example encapsulating material 26covers die 12, conductive connectors 16, and transducer 14, and is shownin phantom lines so that details of the die and transducer may beillustrated in solid lines.

Die 12 may include any suitable structure configured as a miniaturizedcircuit on a suitable die substrate, and is functionally equivalent to acomponent also referred to as a “chip” or an “integrated circuit (IC).”A die substrate may be any suitable semiconductor material; for example,a die substrate may be silicon. Die 12 may be mounted with furtherelectrical conductors 16, such as a lead frame, not shown in FIGS. 1-3,providing connection to external circuits. An impedance transformer 28,shown in dashed lines, may provide impedance matching between thecircuit on die 12 and transducer 14.

Transducer 14 may be in the form of a folded dipole or loop antenna 30,may be configured to operate at radio frequencies, such as in the EHFspectrum, and may be configured to transmit and/or receiveelectromagnetic signals. Antenna 30 may be separate from but operativelyconnected to die 12 by any suitable conductors 16, and may be locatedadjacent to die 12.

The dimensions of antenna 30 may be suitable for operation in the EHFband of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum. In one example, a loopconfiguration of antenna 30 may include a 0.1 mm band of material, laidout in a loop 1.4 mm long and 0.53 mm wide, with a gap of 0.1 mm at themouth of the loop, and with the edge of the loop approximately 0.2 mmfrom the edge of die 12.

Encapsulating material 26 may be used to assist in holding the variouscomponents of IC package 10 in fixed relative positions. Encapsulatingmaterial 26 may be any suitable material configured to provideelectrical insulation and physical protection for the electrical andelectronic components of IC package 10. For example, encapsulatingmaterial 26, also referred to as insulating material, may be a moldcompound, glass, plastic, or ceramic. Encapsulating material 26 may beformed in any suitable shape. For example, encapsulating material 26 maybe in the form of a rectangular block, encapsulating all components ofIC package 10 except the unconnected ends of conductors 16 connectingthe die to external circuits. External connections may be formed withother circuits or components.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary configuration of a transducer 14 connected todie 12 by bond wires 18 and 20 and bond pads 22 and 24. The bond wiresand bond pads may be configured to limit impedance mismatch betweentransducer 14 and a circuit of die 12. In one exemplary embodiment, bondwires 18 and 20 may be 0.6 mm long, with an overhead measurement(indicated as dimension “L”) of approximately 0.3 mm. The bond pads maybe approximately 0.066 mm square. Bond wires may also be disposed suchthat they are approximately 0.074 mm apart at a point of attachment tothe respective bond pads (indicated as dimension “B”) and approximately0.2 mm apart at a point of attachment to antenna 20 (indicated asdimension “S”). Impedance matching may be further facilitated by use oftransformer 28 shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, IC package 10 may further include a ground plane 32mounted to the lower surface of die 12 and a package dielectricsubstrate 34 that may be similar to a dielectric used for PCBs. Groundplane 32 may be any suitable structure configured to provide anelectrical ground for die 12. For example, package ground plane 32 maybe a conductive, rectangular, planar structure mounted directly belowdie 12 on substrate 34. Substrate 34 may have two-sided metallizationpatterns, such as a metallization pattern 36 on the top surface thatincludes antenna 30, ground plane 32, and conductors connected to die 12by a suitable set of conductors 16, such as may be provided by a leadframe or flip-chip bumps as discussed further below. Package 10 mayfurther include external conductors 38 that connect the package toexternal circuits, such as are represented by flip-chip solder balls orbumps 40. Bumps 40 may be connected to conductors in metallizationpattern 36 by ball pads 42 and vias, such as via 44 connecting a bump 46to ground plane 32.

FIGS. 4 through 6 show other configurations of IC packages. FIG. 4 showsan IC package 50 having a die 52, antenna 54, bond wires 56, 58, bondpads 60, 62, impedance transformer 64, and encapsulating material 66,similar to IC package 10. However, in this example, antenna 54 is adipole antenna.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an IC package 70 having a die 72, a foldeddipole antenna 74, impedance transformer 76, and encapsulating material78, a package dielectric substrate 80, a metallization pattern 82including antenna 74 and a ground plane 84, package bumps 86, via 88,and ball pads 90 also similar to IC package 10. Encapsulating material78 covers die 72 and antenna 74. However, in this example, die 12 ismounted on metallization pattern 82 in a flip chip configuration byflip-chip bumps 92. In particular, flip chip bumps, such as bump 94,connect conductors extending from antenna 74 to corresponding conductorterminals on the underside of die 72, without the use of bond wires.

FIG. 7 shows yet another alternate embodiment of an IC package 100having a die 102, a folded dipole antenna 104, encapsulating material106, a package dielectric substrate 108, a metallization pattern 110including antenna 104 and a ground plane 112, package bumps 114, via116, ball pads 118, and flip-chip bumps 120, similar to IC package 70.Flip-chip bumps 120 include flip-chip bump 122 that, connects conductorsextending from antenna 104 to corresponding conductor terminals on theunderside of die 102, which is flip-chip mounted to substrate 108. Inthis example, encapsulating material 106 is used primarily as anunderfill between die 102 and substrate 108.

It will be appreciated from the above, that a system for transmitting orreceiving signals may include a transducer configured to convert betweenelectrical signals and electromagnetic signals; an integrated circuit(IC) operatively coupled to the transducer, the IC containing at leastone of a transmitter circuit that transforms a baseband signal into aradio-frequency signal and conducts the radio-frequency electricalsignal to the transducer for transmission as an electromagnetic signaland a receiver circuit that receives from the transducer aradio-frequency electrical signal received as an electromagnetic signalby the transducer and transforms the electromagnetic signal into abaseband signal; and insulating material in which the IC and transducerare at least partly embedded, the insulating material holding thetransducer and IC in fixed locations spaced relative to each other.

Such a system may further include a dielectric substrate supporting thetransducer, IC and insulating material. The insulating material maycompletely cover the transducer.

FIG. 8 shows a representational side view of a communication device 128including an IC package 130 flip-mounted to an exemplary printed circuitboard (PCB) 132. In this example, it may be seen that IC package 130includes a die 134, an antenna 136, bond wires, including bond wire 138,connecting the die to the antenna. The die, antenna, and bond wires aremounted on a package substrate 140 and encapsulated in encapsulatingmaterial 142. PCB 132 may include a top dielectric layer 144 having amajor face or surface 146. IC package 130 is flip-mounted to surface 146with flip-mounting bumps 148 attached to a metallization pattern (notshown).

PCB 132 may further include a layer 150 spaced from surface 146 made ofconductive material forming a ground plane. The PCB ground plane may beany suitable structure configured to provide an electrical ground tocircuits and components on PCB 132. Ground-plane layer 150 is spacedbelow antenna 136 by a distance D. Distance D may be less than thewavelength of a design frequency depending on the configuration anddimensions of the IC package and PCB. For example, PCB ground plane 150may be located approximately 0.4 mm below mounting surface 146 of PCB132, and antenna 136 may be mounted in a plane approximately 0.25 mmabove mounting surface 146, resulting in a distance D of 0.65 mm betweenthe plane of the antenna and the plane of the ground plane. Operating inthe EHF frequency band between 30 and 300 GHz, the wavelengths arebetween 1 cm and 1 mm.

FIG. 9 shows a simplified exemplary electronic circuit diagram of atransmitter 160 including a transmitter interface circuit 162 and anantenna 164 coupled to the transmit interface circuit. The transmitinterface circuit may be located on a die, such as die 12 shown in FIGS.1-3, and may include a transformer 166, a modulator 168, and anamplifier 170. In this example, transformer 166 is coupled to antenna164 and receives power on a primary winding from a terminal 172. Thetransformer may provide resonant amplification when combined with apower amplifier, and may provide DC blocking and impedancetransformation. Modulator 168 may be any suitable modulator, and isillustrated as a pinch device formed of MOSFETs in a cascodeconfiguration that receives an input signal on a terminal 174 used tomodulate a carrier signal conducted by amplifier 170. Amplifier 170 inthis example includes complementary common-source MOSFETs that aredriven by a signal applied to terminals 176 and 178 having a selectedcarrier frequency produced by a voltage-controlled oscillator.

FIG. 10 shows a simplified diagram of a receiver 180 including areceiver interface circuit 182 and an antenna 184. Interface circuit 182may be included in the integrated circuit in a die, such as die 12illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. A received modulated radio-frequency (RF)signal, such as a signal in the EHF band, is conducted through theseries connections of transformers and transformer-coupled low-noiseamplifiers, including a first transformer 186, amplifier stage 188, asecond transformer 190, a second amplifier stage 192, and a thirdtransformer 194. Transformers 186, 190 and 194 may receive a DC biasvoltage on respective terminals 196, 198, and 200. Amplifier power maybe applied on associated primary windings of transformers 190 and 194 onrespective terminal 202 and 204.

The amplified and conditioned RF signal is input into a demodulator 206that converts the received modulated RF signal into a baseband signal.The signal output from demodulator 206 may then be fed into a furtheroutput comparator 208. Comparator 208 also receives an input/outputthreshold level reference signal from a terminal 210. In this example,the baseband signal is a binary signal. The output from comparator 208is a logic 1 if the demodulated baseband signal is above the thresholdand is a logic 0 if the demodulated baseband signal is below thethreshold.

One or more comparators may also compare an average level of a monitorsignal to a predetermined minimum threshold level to determine if areceived signal is strong enough to be considered valid. It may benecessary for the receiver antenna to be sufficiently close to atransmitter antenna to communicate a sufficiently strong signal. Apredetermined minimum threshold level may be set to ensure theelectromagnetic signal from a transmitter is considered valid andtherefore processed by a receiver if the transmitter antenna andreceiver antenna are within a desired physical communication range, suchas 5 mm to 10 mm.

More specifically, the demodulated baseband signal output fromdemodulator 206 may be input into a low-pass filter 212 in combinationwith the input-output reference provided on terminal 210. The output ofthe filter is a monitor signal representative of the average strength ofthe received demodulated baseband signal, which in turn isrepresentative of the average strength of the received RF signal. Thisaverage-strength monitor signal is input to a second comparator 214along with a signal-detect threshold reference signal received on aterminal 216. Comparator 214 thereby monitors the monitor signal outputfrom filter 212 and determines whether the received signal is asufficiently strong signal.

The output from comparator 214, then, is a signal-detect control signalthat may have one of two states. In a first state, the control signalindicates that the received signal has sufficient strength to beconsidered a valid signal. In the second state, the control signalindicates that the received signal does not have sufficient strength.The control signal from comparator 214 and the demodulated basebandsignal from comparator 208 are input into an AND gate 218. The AND gatethen outputs the baseband signal when the control signal is in the firststate, indicating that a sufficiently strong signal is being received.If the control signal is in the second state, the AND gate is disabled,and no baseband signal is output from receiver interface circuit 182.The signal-detect signal output from comparator 214 may also be outputto other circuits on the die or PCB on which the IC is mounted for otheruses as appropriate.

Interface circuit 182 may also have an automatic gain control (AGC)circuit 219. AGC circuit 219 may include a third comparator 220 thatalso receives the output from filter 212 as a signal representative ofthe average strength of the received signal. Comparator receives as areference signal an AGC target level signal on a terminal 222. Thecomparator then produces an output AGC signal that is fed back toamplifier stages 188 and 192 to control the gain of those amplifiers.The AGC circuit maintains a received sufficiently strong signal at adesired level for output by the receiver interface circuit. It will beseen then that the baseband signal input into signal-detect comparator214 is a conditioned received signal the level of which is modified byamplifier stages 188 and 192 in response to the AGC control signal. Ifthe monitor signal is not sufficiently strong, even with automatic gaincontrol, then AND gate 218 is disabled and no baseband signal is output.

From the above, it will be apparent that in some examples, a system mayinclude a first transducer configured to convert electromagnetic signalsinto electrical signals; and a first IC operatively coupled to thetransducer, the IC including a receiver circuit for receiving from thetransducer a first radio-frequency electrical signal and transformingthe first radio-frequency electrical signal into a first basebandsignal, and outputting the first baseband signal when a control signalhas a first state and not when the control signal has a second statedifferent than the first state, and a signal-detector circuit responsiveto a monitor signal representative of the received first radio-frequencyelectrical signal for generating the control signal with the first statewhen the monitor signal indicates the received first radio-frequencyelectrical signal is an acceptable signal and with the second state whenthe monitor signal indicates the received first radio-frequencyelectrical signal is not an acceptable signal.

The signal-detector circuit may include a comparator for comparing acharacteristic of the monitor signal to a reference, the comparatorgenerating an output signal indicating how the characteristic of themonitor signal compares to the reference, the signal-detector circuitgenerating the control signal in response to the output signal. Thecharacteristic of the monitor signal may be representative of strengthof the received first radio-frequency signal, and the reference isrepresentative of a threshold signal strength below which reception isdisabled and above which reception is enabled. The characteristic of themonitor signal may be representative of average signal strength.

In some examples, such a system may further include a second transducerconfigured to convert electrical signals into electromagnetic signals,the second transducer being disposed sufficiently close to the firsttransducer for the first transducer to receive electromagnetic signalsproduced by the second transducer; and a second IC operatively coupledto the second transducer, the second IC containing a transmitter circuitfor receiving a second baseband signal and transforming the secondbaseband signal into a second radio-frequency electrical signal andconducting the second radio-frequency electrical signal to the secondtransducer.

In some examples, a method may include receiving by a first transducer afirst radio-frequency electromagnetic signal; converting by the firsttransducer the first radio-frequency electromagnetic signal into a firstradio-frequency electrical signal; receiving from the transducer by areceiver circuit of an integrated circuit (IC) the first radio-frequencyelectrical signal; generating a monitor signal representative of thereceived first radio-frequency electrical signal; monitoring by asignal-detector circuit the monitor signal; determining whether themonitor signal indicates the received first radio-frequency electricalsignal is an acceptable signal; generating a control signal with a firststate when the monitor signal indicates the received firstradio-frequency electrical signal is an acceptable signal and with asecond state different than the first state when the monitor signalindicates the received first radio-frequency electrical signal is not anacceptable signal; transforming by the receiver circuit the firstradio-frequency electrical signal into a first baseband signal when thecontrol signal has the first state; and not transforming by the receivercircuit the first radio-frequency electrical signal into a firstbaseband signal when the control signal has the second state.

Determining whether the monitor signal indicates the received firstradio-frequency electrical signal is an acceptable signal may includecomparing a characteristic of the monitor signal to a reference;generating an output signal indicating how the characteristic of themonitor signal compares to the reference; and generating the controlsignal includes generating the control signal in response to the outputsignal. The characteristic of the monitor signal may be representativeof strength of the received first radio-frequency signal, and thereference may be representative of a threshold signal strength belowwhich reception is disabled and above which reception is enabled. Thecharacteristic of the monitor signal may be representative of averagesignal strength

In some examples, such a method may further include receiving by asecond IC containing a transmitter circuit a second baseband signal;transforming the second baseband signal into a second radio-frequencyelectrical signal; conducting the second radio-frequency electricalsignal to a second transducer; positioning the second transducersufficiently close to the first transducer for the first transducer toreceive electromagnetic signals produced by the second transducer; andconverting by the second transducer the second radio-frequencyelectrical signal into the first radio-frequency electromagnetic signal.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate another exemplary communication device 230including an IC package 232 with external circuit conductors 234 and236. In this example, IC package 232 may include a die 238, a lead frame240, conductive connectors 242 in the form of bond wires, an antenna244, encapsulating material 246, and other components not shown tosimplify the illustration. Die 236 may be mounted in electricalcommunication with lead frame 240, which may be any suitable arrangementof electrical conductors 248 configured to allow one or more othercircuits to operatively connect with die 238. Antenna 244 may beconstructed as a part of the manufacturing process that produces leadframe 240.

Leads 248 may be embedded or fixed in a lead frame substrate 250, shownin phantom lines, corresponding to package substrate 34 shown in FIG. 2.The lead frame substrate may be any suitable insulating materialconfigured to substantially hold leads 248 in a predeterminedarrangement. Electrical communication between die 238 and leads 248 oflead frame 240 may be accomplished by any suitable method usingconductive connectors 242. As mentioned, conductive connectors 242 mayinclude bond wires that electrically connect terminals on a circuit ofdie 238 with corresponding conductors 248. For example, a conductor 248may include a plated lead 252 formed on an upper surface of lead framesubstrate 250, a via 254 extending through the substrate, aflip-mounting bump 256 mounting IC package 232 to a circuit on a basesubstrate, such as a PCB, not shown. The circuit on the base substratemay include a external conductors, such as external conductor 234, whichfor example, may include a strip conductor 258 connecting bump 256 to afurther via 260 extending through the base substrate. Other vias 262 mayextend through the lead frame substrate 250 and there may be additionalvias 264 extending through the base substrate.

In another example, die 238 may be inverted and conductive connectors242 may include bumps, or die solder balls, as described previously,which may be configured to electrically connect points on a circuit ofdie 238 directly to corresponding leads 248 in what is commonly known asa “flip chip” arrangement.

Lead frame 240 may be configured to create what may be considered aradiation shaper 266 forming effectively a wire mesh backstop forradiation transmitted by antenna 244 or radiation received from anexternal antenna. Other circuit connectors may also contribute to theradiation reflector, including conductive connectors 242, variouscombinations of external conductors 234 and 236. The conductors mayconduct active signals or be circuit grounds because electromagneticsignals of sufficiently high frequencies that both types of conductorscontribute to the reflections or shaping of the radiation. The shapingeffect applies to received as well as transmitted radiation.Additionally, various shaping effects are possible, and it may bedesirable in some embodiments to have reduced or insubstantialdirectional shaping effect, essentially creating an electromagneticsignal with omni-directional or hemispherical qualities.

Lead frame 240 may be configured with conductors 248 separated by a pinpitch or gap, such as distance G shown in FIG. 12. Distance G may beeffective if it is significantly less than one wavelength of anoperating frequency of the transmitter or receiver. For example, the pinpitch may be configured to be 1/10th of the wavelength. Thisconfiguration may effectively create a wire mesh, providing a backstopfor antenna 244 and directionally shaping an associated electromagneticsignal and directing it substantially away from die 238.

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate a characteristic radiation pattern 270produced by a simulation of an electromagnetic signal emanating from anexemplary transmitting IC package 232 having the radiation shaper 266described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. The indicated layersrepresented in the figures generally corresponds with increasing gainwith distance from IC package 232 As seen by the radiation patterns inFIGS. 13 and 14, the radiation is directed away from die 238 and leadframe 240, shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, in a direction corresponding to theside of die 238 on which antenna 244 is mounted.

Further or alternative shaping of the electromagnetic signal may beaccomplished by the configuration of a ground plane 150 in a PCB 132 ofa communication device as described with reference to FIG. 8, generallydeflecting an electromagnetic signal in a direction dependent on theconfiguration of the PCB ground plane 150 relative to antenna 136embedded in the right end of IC package 130 as viewed in FIGS. 15 and16. These figures illustrate idealized radiation patterns that mayresult from different configurations, and are not the results ofsimulations of these configurations. Actual radiation patterns aredependent on relative configurations, actual structures, and thestrength of applied signals.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 15, ground plane 150 extends out pastthe antenna in IC package 130 by a distance F that is well beyond theantenna opposite from the position of die 134. It is seen that resultingradiation 280 extends upwardly away from ground plane 150 and away fromIC package 130.

As shown in FIG. 16, first IC package 130′ may be mounted forcommunication with a second IC package 130″. Either IC package 10 may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive electromagnetic signals, providingone- or two-way communication between the two IC packages and anyrespective accompanying electronic circuits or components that each isconnected to. First IC package 130′ is shown mounted to a first PCB 132′and second IC package 130″ is shown mounted to a second PCB 132″,whereby the IC packages provide inter-PCB communication. In otherexamples, first and a second IC packages 130′ and 130″ may be co-locatedon a single PCB, such as PCB 132′, as indicated by the phantom linesbetween the PCBs to provide intra-PCB communication.

First IC package 130′ may include a transmitter 160 as described withreference to FIG. 9. Correspondingly, second IC package 130″ may includea receiver 180 as described with reference to FIG. 10. The appropriaterelative positions for IC package 130′ and IC package 130″ may bedetermined by operation of the signal detect circuit of receiverinterface circuit 182 as described with reference to FIG. 10.

Additionally, a ground plane 150′ in PCB 132′ may have a leading edge150A′ that is generally in line with the antenna end 130A′ of IC package130′. With the ground plane recessed under IC package 130′, it is seenthat the radiation 282 extends from end 130A′ more to the right in FIG.16 than the radiation shown in FIG. 15. The radiation may thereby bedirected more toward receiver IC package 130″, depending on the actualconfiguration used. The configuration of a ground plane relative to theantenna may thus also function as a radiation shaper.

Additional radiation directing may be provided by conductive elementsspaced from the antenna, which conductive elements also may function asa radiation shaper. An example is shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, whichillustrate a communication device 290 including an IC package 292mounted onto a PCB 294 by package mounting bumps 296. PCB extends beyondIC package 292 away from an end 292A of the IC package that contains adie 298 and an antenna 300, as discussed with reference to FIGS. 1-3,for example. In this example, an array 302 of external directorstructures, including director structures 304 and 306 are disposed awayfrom IC package end 292A. Arrays with other forms of director structuresor more or fewer director structures may be used.

External director structures 304 and 306 may be any suitable structureconfigured to passively retransmit electromagnetic radiation. Externaldirector structures 304 and 306 may be made of any conductive material;for example, copper, aluminum, and/or gold. The director structures maybe placed at periodic or otherwise spaced intervals from transmittingantenna end 292A of transmitting IC package 292. For example, theexternal director structures may be elongate conductive bars having alength Y approximately 1 mm long and spaced a distance P approximately 1mm apart, as generally shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. In this example,radiation 308 transmitted by antenna 300 may energize director structure304, producing radiation 310. Radiation 310 in turn may energizedirector structure 306, producing radiation 312. Additional directorstructures may extend the radiation pattern further. It is seen thenthat a composite elongate radiation pattern 314 may be produced thatextends the radiation in an associated direction beyond the radiationthat would otherwise be produced by antenna 300 without such directorstructures.

It will thus be appreciated that locating an antenna or other transduceroff-chip may result in effective antenna impedance matching, independentantenna design, increased transmission power, and selective directionalshaping of a resulting radiation pattern. The radiation may thus bedirected in a direction where a receiving antenna may be positioned.Locating an antenna within the package may also provide a customer witha more complete assembly that incorporates characteristics of theassembly to satisfy specifications and tailored operatingcharacteristics, besides protecting an incorporated antenna from damage.

Accordingly, a system as described above for transmitting or receivingsignals may include a transducer configured to convert betweenradio-frequency electrical signals and radio-frequency electromagneticsignals; an integrated circuit (IC) operatively coupled to thetransducer, the IC containing at least one of a transmitter circuit thattransforms a baseband signal into a radio-frequency electrical signaland conducts the radio-frequency signal to the transducer and a receivercircuit that receives from the transducer a radio-frequency electricalsignal and transforms the radio-frequency electrical signal into abaseband signal; and an electromagnetic-energy directing assemblymounted relative to the transducer for directing electromagnetic energyin a region including the transducer and in a direction away from theIC.

In some examples, the directing assembly includes a lead frame providingexternal connections to conductors on the IC, and the transducer isconfigured to convert signals having a predetermined wavelength and thelead frame is spaced from the transducer and includes a plurality ofseparate conductor elements distributed about the IC and disposedsufficiently close together to reflect electromagnetic energy having thepredetermined wavelength. At least a portion of the conductor elementsmay each be spaced apart from adjacent conductor elements by less thanone sixth of the predetermined wavelength. The lead frame may reflectelectromagnetic energy converted by the transducer predominantly awayfrom the lead frame in a direction associated with the transducer. Thetransducer may be disposed on a first side of the IC on which the leadframe is not disposed. The lead frame may be disposed at least alongsecond and third sides of the IC that are each adjacent to the firstside. The lead frame may be configured to cause received electromagneticenergy to be stronger in a region including the transducer and extendingaway from the lead frame than in a region including the lead frame andextending away from the transducer.

A dielectric substrate to which is mounted the IC, lead frame, andtransducer, and a printed circuit board (PCB) may have a major face onwhich the dielectric substrate is mounted. The directing assemblyfurther may include a ground plane mounted on the PCB, the ground planebeing spaced from and parallel to the major face of the PCB with thetransducer spaced from the ground plane. The PCB may extend away fromthe transducer opposite the IC, with the directing assembly includingone or more elongate conductive elements disposed in spaced-apartpositions on the PCB along a line extending in a direction away from thetransducer. The one or more conductive elements may each extendtransversely of the line.

The system may further include a dielectric substrate to which aremounted the IC and transducer, and a printed circuit board (PCB) havinga major face on which the dielectric substrate is mounted, with thedirecting assembly further including a ground plane mounted on the PCBin line with the transducer. The transducer may be disposed away fromthe ground plane a preselected distance that is greater than 0.25 mm.The ground plane may extend parallel to the major face of the PCB belowthe IC and terminate at an edge aligned with the transducer, wherebyradiation transmitted by the transducer is directed away from thetransducer in a direction predominantly away from the IC. The groundplane may extend along the IC and transducer and beyond the transducer,whereby radiation transmitted by the transducer is directed away fromthe ground plane.

In some examples, the system may further include a PCB having a majorface on which the IC and transducer are mounted. The major face of thePCB may extend away from the transducer opposite the IC. The directingassembly may include one or more elongate conductive elements disposedin spaced-apart positions on the PCB along a line extending in adirection away from the transducer, the one or more conductive elementseach extending transversely of the line.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The inventions described herein relate to industrial and commercialindustries, such as electronics and communications industries usingdevices that communicate with other devices or devices havingcommunication between components in the devices.

It is believed that the disclosure set forth herein encompasses multipledistinct inventions with independent utility. While each of theseinventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specificembodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to beconsidered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. Eachexample defines an embodiment disclosed in the foregoing disclosure, butany one example does not necessarily encompass all features orcombinations that may be eventually claimed. Where the descriptionrecites “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, suchdescription includes one or more such elements, neither requiring norexcluding two or more such elements. Further, ordinal indicators, suchas first, second or third, for identified elements are used todistinguish between the elements, and do not indicate a required orlimited number of such elements, and do not indicate a particularposition or order of such elements unless otherwise specifically stated.

1. A system for transmitting or receiving signals, the systemcomprising: a transducer configured to convert between electricalsignals and electromagnetic signals an integrated circuit (IC)operatively coupled to the transducer, the IC containing at least one ofa transmitter circuit that transforms a baseband signal into aradio-frequency signal and conducts the radio-frequency electricalsignal to the transducer for transmission as an electromagnetic signaland a receiver circuit that receives from the transducer aradio-frequency electrical signal received as an electromagnetic signalby the transducer and transforms the electromagnetic signal into abaseband signal; and insulating material in which the IC and transducerare at least partly embedded, the insulating material holding thetransducer and IC in fixed locations spaced relative to each other. 2.The system of claim 1, further comprising a dielectric substratesupporting the transducer, IC and insulating material.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the insulating material completely covers thetransducer.
 4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a lead frameproviding external connections to conductors on the IC, the IC and leadframe also being completely covered by the insulating material.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a dielectric substrate to whichare mounted the IC, lead frame, and transducer, and a ground planeoperatively connected to the IC and mounted between the IC and thedielectric substrate, the insulating material being disposed on thedielectric substrate and also covering the ground plane to comprise anIC package.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a lead frameproviding external connections to conductors on the IC, and wherein thetransducer is configured to convert signals having a predeterminedwavelength and the lead frame includes a plurality of separate conductorelements distributed about the IC and disposed sufficiently closetogether to reflect electromagnetic energy having the predeterminedwavelength.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of theconductor elements are each spaced apart from adjacent conductorelements by less than one sixth of the predetermined wavelength.
 8. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the lead frame reflects electromagneticenergy converted by the transducer predominantly away from the leadframe in a direction associated with the transducer.
 9. The system ofclaim 6, wherein the lead frame is configured to cause receivedelectromagnetic energy to be stronger in a region including thetransducer and extending away from the lead frame than in a regionincluding the lead frame and extending away from the transducer.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, further comprising a dielectric substrate to whichare mounted the IC, lead frame, and transducer, and a printed circuitboard (PCB) having a major face on which the dielectric substrate ismounted, the PCB having a ground plane spaced from and parallel to themajor face, the transducer being disposed a preselected distance abovethe ground plane.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the preselecteddistance above the ground plane is less than a wavelength of anoperating frequency of the transducer.
 12. The system of claim 10,wherein the ground plane extends below the IC and terminates at an edgealigned with the transducer, whereby radiation transmitted by thetransducer is directed away from the transducer in a directionpredominantly away from the IC.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein theground plane has a major face that extends below the IC and beyond thetransducer, whereby radiation transmitted by the transducer is directedaway from the major face of the ground plane.
 14. The system of claim 1,further comprising one or more conductive elements and a printed circuitboard (PCB), the PCB having a major face on which the IC and transducerare mounted, the major face of the PCB extending away from thetransducer opposite the IC, the one or more conductive elements beingdisposed in spaced-apart positions on the PCB along a line extending ina direction away from the transducer, the one or more conductiveelements each extending transversely of the line.
 15. A system fortransmitting or receiving signals, the system comprising: a transducerconfigured to convert between radio-frequency electrical signals andradio-frequency electromagnetic signals; an integrated circuit (IC)operatively coupled to the transducer, the IC including at least one ofa transmitter circuit that transforms a baseband signal into aradio-frequency electrical signal and conducts the radio-frequencysignal to the transducer and a receiver circuit that receives from thetransducer a radio-frequency electrical signal and transforms theradio-frequency electrical signal into a baseband signal; and anelectromagnetic-energy directing assembly mounted relative to thetransducer for directing electromagnetic energy in a region includingthe transducer and in a direction away from the IC.
 16. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the directing assembly includes a lead frame providingexternal connections to conductors on the IC, and the transducer isconfigured to convert signals having a predetermined wavelength and thelead frame is spaced from the transducer and includes a plurality ofseparate conductor elements distributed about the IC and disposedsufficiently close together to reflect electromagnetic energy having thepredetermined wavelength.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein at least aportion of the conductor elements are each spaced apart from adjacentconductor elements by less than one sixth of the predeterminedwavelength.
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein the lead frame reflectselectromagnetic energy converted by the transducer predominantly awayfrom the lead frame in a direction associated with the transducer. 19.The system of claim 16, wherein the transducer is disposed on a firstside of the IC and the lead frame is not disposed along the first sideof the IC.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the lead frame isdisposed at least along second and third sides of the IC that are eachadjacent to the first side.
 21. The system of claim 16, wherein the leadframe is configured to cause received electromagnetic energy to bestronger in a region including the transducer and extending away fromthe lead frame than in a region including the lead frame and extendingaway from the transducer.
 22. The system of claim 21, further comprisinga dielectric substrate to which are mounted the IC, lead frame, andtransducer, and a printed circuit board (PCB) having a major face onwhich the dielectric substrate is mounted, the directing assemblyfurther comprising a ground plane mounted on the PCB, the ground planebeing spaced from and parallel to the major face of the PCB and thetransducer being spaced from the ground plane.
 23. The system of claim22, wherein the major face of the PCB extends away from the transduceropposite the IC, the directing assembly including one or more elongateconductive elements disposed in spaced-apart positions on the PCB alonga line extending in a direction away from the transducer, the one ormore conductive elements each extending transversely of the line. 24.The system of claim 23, further comprising a dielectric substrate towhich are mounted the IC and transducer, and a printed circuit board(PCB) having a major face on which the dielectric substrate is mounted,the directing assembly further comprising a ground plane mounted on thePCB in line with the transducer.
 25. The system of claim 24, wherein thetransducer is disposed away from the ground plane a preselected distancethat is less than a wavelength of an operating frequency of thetransducer.
 26. The system of claim 24, wherein the ground plane extendsparallel to the major face of the PCB below the IC and terminates at anedge aligned with the transducer, whereby radiation transmitted by thetransducer is directed away from the transducer in a directionpredominantly away from the IC.
 27. The system of claim 24, wherein theground plane extends along the IC and transducer and beyond thetransducer, whereby radiation transmitted by the transducer is directedaway from the ground plane.
 28. The system of claim 15, furthercomprising a printed circuit board (PCB), the PCB having a major face onwhich the IC and transducer are mounted, the major face of the PCBextending away from the transducer opposite the IC, the directingassembly including one or more elongate conductive elements disposed inspaced-apart positions on the PCB along a line extending in a directionaway from the transducer, the one or more conductive elements eachextending transversely of the line.
 29. A system comprising: a firsttransducer configured to convert electromagnetic signals into electricalsignals; and a first integrated circuit (IC) operatively coupled to thetransducer, the IC including: a receiver circuit for receiving from thetransducer a first radio-frequency electrical signal and transformingthe first radio-frequency electrical signal into a first basebandsignal, and outputting the first baseband signal when a control signalhas a first state and not when the control signal has a second statedifferent than the first state; and a signal-detector circuit responsiveto a monitor signal representative of the received first radio-frequencyelectrical signal for generating the control signal with the first statewhen the monitor signal indicates the received first radio-frequencyelectrical signal is an acceptable signal and with the second state whenthe monitor signal indicates the received first radio-frequencyelectrical signal is not an acceptable signal.
 30. The system of claim29, wherein the signal-detector circuit includes a comparator forcomparing a characteristic of the monitor signal to a reference, thecomparator generating an output signal indicating how the characteristicof the monitor signal compares to the reference, the signal-detectorcircuit generating the control signal in response to the output signal.31. The system of claim 30, wherein the characteristic of the monitorsignal is representative of strength of the received firstradio-frequency signal, and the reference is representative of athreshold signal strength below which reception is disabled and abovewhich reception is enabled.
 32. The system of claim 31, wherein thecharacteristic of the monitor signal is representative of average signalstrength.
 33. The system of claim 30, further comprising: a secondtransducer configured to convert electrical signals into electromagneticsignals, the second transducer being disposed sufficiently close to thefirst transducer for the first transducer to receive electromagneticsignals produced by the second transducer; and a second IC operativelycoupled to the second transducer, the second IC containing a transmittercircuit for receiving a second baseband signal and transforming thesecond baseband signal into a second radio-frequency electrical signaland conducting the second radio-frequency electrical signal to thesecond transducer.
 34. A method comprising: receiving by a firsttransducer a first radio-frequency electromagnetic signal; converting bythe first transducer the first radio-frequency electromagnetic signalinto a first radio-frequency electrical signal; receiving from thetransducer by a receiver circuit of an integrated circuit (IC) the firstradio-frequency electrical signal; generating a monitor signalrepresentative of the received first radio-frequency electrical signal;monitoring by a signal-detector circuit the monitor signal; determiningwhether the monitor signal indicates the received first radio-frequencyelectrical signal is an acceptable signal; generating a control signalwith a first state when the monitor signal indicates the received firstradio-frequency electrical signal is an acceptable signal and with asecond state different than the first state when the monitor signalindicates the received first radio-frequency electrical signal is not anacceptable signal; transforming by the receiver circuit the firstradio-frequency electrical signal into a first baseband signal when thecontrol signal has the first state; and not transforming by the receivercircuit the first radio-frequency electrical signal into a firstbaseband signal when the control signal has the second state.
 35. Themethod of claim 34, wherein determining whether the monitor signalindicates the received first radio-frequency electrical signal is anacceptable signal includes comparing a characteristic of the monitorsignal to a reference; generating an output signal indicating how thecharacteristic of the monitor signal compares to the reference; andgenerating the control signal includes generating the control signal inresponse to the output signal.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein thecharacteristic of the monitor signal is representative of strength ofthe received first radio-frequency signal, and the reference isrepresentative of a threshold signal strength below which reception isdisabled and above which reception is enabled.
 37. The method of claim36, wherein the characteristic of the monitor signal is representativeof average signal strength.
 39. The method of claim 36, furthercomprising: receiving by a second IC containing a transmitter circuit asecond baseband signal; transforming the second baseband signal into asecond radio-frequency electrical signal; conducting the secondradio-frequency electrical signal to a second transducer; positioningthe second transducer sufficiently close to the first transducer for thefirst transducer to receive electromagnetic signals produced by thesecond transducer; and converting by the second transducer the secondradio-frequency electrical signal into the first radio-frequencyelectromagnetic signal.